Even after Florida’s late-season surge in 2024, Billy Napier needed a strong encore, while navigating another brutal schedule, to secure his long-term future as Gators coach.
After another slow start that featured losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, Napier couldn’t dig himself out of the canyon this time. He was fired Oct. 19 with a final record of 22-23 in Gainesville.
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For the fifth time since Urban Meyer retired in December 2010, Florida is seeking a new head football coach. The job has its clear upsides — proximity to recruits, fan and financial support as well as the ability to compete for national championships — but the coaching churn in Gainesville is undeniable. Meyer won big there but only for a relatively short period. Florida had three straight AP top-6 finishes under Charley Pell and Galen Hall in the mid-1980s. Otherwise, Steve Spurrier is the only coach to build a sustainable winner with the Gators.
Florida gave Napier the necessary support to elevate the program and made clear gains in recruiting. Coaches who have faced the Gators the past two seasons repeatedly praised the talent on the roster. But things never came together for long stretches under Napier, as Florida didn’t make the 12-team College Football Playoff last season and wasn’t going to this season.
Athletic director Scott Stricklin received a contract extension this summer and will be selecting his third football coach. How much power he truly has in the hire is a question looming over this search. Florida has yet to make the CFP, and really needs to get this one right. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin had been considered the top candidate, but it was reported on Nov. 28 that Florida was moving away from Kiffin. Here’s our updated list of candidates:
Candidates | Transfers | Recruits
Five candidates for the job
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall: Would Florida consider another Group of 5 candidate from Louisiana after Napier? Sumrall and Napier are certainly different enough, but Florida would have to get past their similar profile. In Sumrall, Florida gets a proven winner at two schools — Tulane and Troy, where Sumrall won consecutive Sun Belt titles — who has a strong personality and spent time in the SEC both as a player (Kentucky) and as an assistant (Kentucky and Ole Miss). Sumrall, 43, also is on Auburn’s radar and will be in the mix at Ole Miss with Kiffin leaving. But Florida’s location and resources could excite him about a move there.
Washington coach Jedd Fisch: Few coaches have hopscotched around the college and NFL map quite like Fisch, who at 49 has worked for seven NFL teams and six college squads since the 2002 season. He came to Washington as more of a long-term play after reviving Arizona’s program with a 10-win season in 2023, but if there were a destination job that existed for Fisch, it would be Florida, his alma mater. He spent time as a student assistant and a graduate assistant with Spurrier, and has worked in the state as an offensive coordinator for Miami and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington certainly doesn’t want to lose another talented coach so soon, but the school’s hesitancy to fully back Fisch financially could lead to his departure. Fisch has built up a strong young nucleus at Washington and is 14-10 there.
USC coach Lincoln Riley: After losing out on Kiffin, Florida might want to take another big swing at an offensive-minded coach with even better credentials. Riley led an improved USC team this season but still didn’t make his first College Football Playoff appearance with the Trojans. He has ESPN’s No. 1 recruiting class coming in and a chance to take another step next fall, and this week reiterated that he’s in the right place at USC. But it’s not a secret that things haven’t been wonderful behind the scenes in Los Angeles, and a fresh start at a program like Florida could be appealing. Riley, 42, holds all of the cards because of his sizable contract. Even the Florida fans who wanted Kiffin would acknowledge that Riley — who won four straight Big 12 titles and reached the CFP each year — has accomplished much more as a head coach.
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm: He gives Florida two things it has lacked in the past decade: an undeniably fun and dynamic offense, and the ability to win the biggest games. Yes, Louisville has cratered down the stretch, continuing a pattern under Brohm of losing to inferior opponents. But his teams always have a chance, as evidenced by a 4-4 record against AP top-five opponents, including a road win against Miami this season. Brohm, 54, is good with quarterbacks and extremely creative at designing his offense. Florida fans would love to watch it. They also might need to live with the occasional drop-offs. Brohm is 92-56 as an FBS coach.
Georgia Tech coach Brent Key: He’s a Georgia Tech guy and, until recently, had his alma mater positioned for a run at the ACC title and the program’s first CFP appearance. Key wouldn’t leave for just any job, but he would have to consider a program like Florida. Key, 47, grew up in Alabama and has spent his entire career in the Southeast, including more than a decade in the state of Florida at UCF in various roles. Key is 26-16 at Georgia Tech as a first-time head coach, and has thrived in big games with a 7-1 record against ranked ACC opponents. He would bring a clear recruiting vision and an approach based around the line of scrimmage to Florida. — Adam Rittenberg
Five important players to retain
QB DJ Lagway: Can the next head coach keep Lagway in Gainesville? The sophomore QB has been extremely loyal to Napier and invested in building up the program with him. The retention of Lagway probably will be a major priority for whomever takes this job. Lagway has struggled this season, ranking last among SEC starters in QBR (56.7) and 15th in yards per attempt (6.82), and has dealt with injuries throughout his two seasons at Florida. He probably will still have an opportunity to be one of the highest-paid QBs in the country next year, regardless of how his sophomore season plays out.
If the Texas native wants to play closer to home, he’ll have options. Texas A&M tried hard to flip Lagway’s recruitment at the last minute after Mike Elko took over in December 2023. His father, Derek Lagway, played at Baylor in the late 1990s. Lagway will be entering his junior season and draft-eligible next year, so putting himself in the best position for his development and the NFL — whether that’s with a new regime at Florida or elsewhere — will undoubtedly influence this decision.
RB Jadan Baugh: As a freshman, Baugh emerged as the Gators’ leading rusher with 916 rushing yards and eight TDs on 5.4 yards per carry. Entering Week 8, Baugh ranked third among all FBS backs in forced missed tackles (47), according to ESPN Research, and more than 750 of his 1,284 career rushing yards have come after first contact. On Saturday, he rushed for a career-best 150 yards to help power the Gators’ win over Mississippi State. Baugh will have two more seasons of eligibility and is expected to receive significant SEC and national interest.
LB Myles Graham: Graham moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore and leads Florida with 40 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and three pass breakups. The son of former Gators and NFL running back Earnest Graham came in as the fourth-ranked outside linebacker in the 2024 ESPN 300 and proved he was ready to play with a productive season in a reserve role, earning SEC All-Freshman recognition. It’ll probably be tough to pull him away from Gainesville given his family ties, but he is a talented playmaker.
WR Vernell Brown III: A true freshman wideout, ESPN’s No. 41 overall recruit for 2025 earned a starting role right away and has a team-high 32 catches for 463 yards through seven games. He’s the son and grandson of former Gators, so there’s a lot of loyalty there, but Brown will command major interest. You also could put several more Gators wide receivers on this list, between Dallas Wilson, Eugene Wilson III and Aidan Mizell. All four will be seriously coveted if they explore transfers.
DT Caleb Banks: Banks turning down the NFL for one more season with the Gators was a huge deal for Napier and his staff. He’s one of ESPN’s top three defensive tackle prospects for the 2026 draft and will almost certainly go pro after this season, but Banks could return for one extra season if he needs a medical redshirt. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound senior sat out the first two games because of a foot injury, reinjured it against LSU and is now expected to be out indefinitely. — Max Olson
Three key recruits
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
DE JaReylan McCoy, No. 9 in the ESPN 300: McCoy committed to the Gators over LSU and Texas in June, and the five-star edge rusher remains the top-ranked member of Florida’s 2026 class. McCoy and his family have spoken often about his comfort with the Gators, emphasizing that his pledge is tied as much, if not more, to the program as it is to Napier and his staff. Florida’s in-season decision to move on from Napier will surely test that resolve. McCoy spent a month committed to LSU earlier this year, and the Tigers have continued their efforts with him this fall, as have Ole Miss and Texas, among others.
QB Will Griffin, No. 69 in the ESPN 300: A Gainesville native whose family went to UF, Griffin has been committed to the Gators since June 2024, and his recruitment has been effectively shut down for more than a year. As things stand, there’s nothing to suggest Griffin will be on the move. But Napier’s departure at least cracks the door for any QB-needy program to check in on ESPN’s No. 6 pocket passer. If other elite commits begin spilling out of Florida’s class, figuring out how to keep Griffin in the fold will be imperative for the Gators.
RB Davian Groce, No. 36 overall: An August commit, Groce would represent the Gators’ highest-ranked running back signee since Kelvin Taylor in the 2013 cycle. Florida emerged late in Groce’s recruiting process to beat finalists Baylor, Houston and Oklahoma to ESPN’s No. 4 running back prospect. Those schools probably will circle back with Groce, whose Gators pledge looms especially large if fellow Florida running back Carsyn Baker — an early fall flip target of Auburn, Florida State and South Carolina — reopens his recruitment and heads elsewhere. — Eli Lederman
